


« Sword Art Online : REvitalization »

by Tetsuya055



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Inspired by Sword Art Online, Multi, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2020-01-15 23:21:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18509140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tetsuya055/pseuds/Tetsuya055
Summary: Tetsuya Yamazaki is an 18-year-old male who seems to be full of mysteries.He chooses to be alone most of the time. He's a high school drop out. The only thing he's good at is playing VRMMO (Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online) games.There is one simple reason as to why. Tetsuya is a survivor of the infamous VRMMO death game, known as Sword Art Online. What's more is that he seems to be well known by the other survivors, especially Kirito and Asuna - but it's not exactly for all the right reasons.Seeking to re-integrate himself back into society after the horrors of his past, Tetsuya must eventually accept who he once was if he wants to find out who he wants to be.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> « n o t e »
> 
> 🈁
> 
> This is a fan-made story about Sword Art Online, and this is a non-profit work. Credits to Reki Kawahara, abec, ASCII Media Works, and A-1 Pictures.  
> Please also support the official release.
> 
> « w a r n i n g »
> 
> ⛔️
> 
> This story contains explicit content and mature themes - such as drugs, depression, and suicide. Read at your own discretion.  
> Trigger warnings will be shown at the start of each chapter that contains such content.
> 
> Thank you for your support.

[Breaking News]

"Following a series of deaths in Gun Gale Online, two suspects have been arrested for homicide. The brothers Shouichi and Kyouji Shinkawa have been revealed to be the perpetrators behind the Death Gun incident, which has taken the lives of four players - XeXeed, Usujio, Garrett, and Pale Rider. There has been revealed to be another suspect that has helped with this murder scheme, but the police say that they have not caught him yet."

"Shouichi Shinkawa, the older brother among the two, was a member of Laughing Coffin in the infamous VRMMORPG Sword Art Online. As of this moment, police are investigating other known Laughing Coffin members to see if they have anything to do with the Death Gun incident-"

The television is suddenly turned off.

A brown haired male with brown eyes sighs softly, and tosses the remote for the television onto the ground. In his hand is a stress ball, which he squeezes constantly. 

He tosses the ball at the wall, and it bounces back to him. He manages to catch it before it hits his face. He continues throwing the ball at the wall and catching it.

Eventually, he gets bored and tosses the stress ball onto the ground as well, and doesn't bother chasing after it to get it again.

He looks at the scars on his wrists.

It was at this moment that he suddenly got a message on his phone. He looks at the screen to check it out.

[From: Asuna]  
[Hey, you've just been in your room all week… Maybe you should hang out with us sometime. Agil's Dicey Cafe is always open, and we're usually there.]

He silently types his reply.

[To: Asuna]  
[No thanks, I'll pass.]

He mumbles to himself.

"I don't want anything to do with them."

The brown-haired male stares at a mirror across the room. He sees his own reflection, and narrows his eyes a bit. Looking into his own eyes, memories from long ago pop up in his mind.

A floating castle.

A virtual world.

A living hell.

He had seen it all, but most of it, he does not remember. Maybe he chooses not to remember.

He had seen death.

He had brought death.

He had experienced death.

Every single night, he remembers the sins he's committed.

For him, there's no escape.

In that other world, many lives were taken.  
Among those lives were lives that he took with his own hands.  
Did he have a choice? Did he do it of his own free will?  
He does not remember.  
All he knows is that he was a killer.  
A killer who laughed at death.  
A killer for Laughing Coffin.


	2. Chapter 2

[February 15, 2026]

[Two Months After The Death Gun Incident]

Sinon promised Kirito that she would convert her account to ALO soon. Kirito did tell her that someone with her skills would be very useful and be able to help Kirito and the others in clearing the New Aincrad.

Still, the fourth Bullet of Bullets was a few days from now. She decided that it wouldn't hurt to try one more time. She might as well test her luck.

The Bullet of Bullets occured every two months. The first one was back in August, the second one in October, the third one in December, and now the fourth one in February. 

While the Death Gun incident would've set things back a bit, public demand had grown stronger - especially after Kirito won the tournament with his (or to many male players, her) flashy playstyle. 

Many decided to copy it, and many were determined to win the next Bullet of Bullets.

Still, Sinon wanted to win once more. This time, without Kirito's help. Just her and her trusty sniper rifle.

So here she was, back in Gun Gale Online.

Just earlier, a friend of hers approached her, going by the name of Metronomy. They knew each other for a long time. The fact that they were from the same school may have played a big factor in that.

She asked Sinon for a favor. Her squad wanted to earn some quick EXP and cash, so they planned to ambush some squads outside the city, and while they were at it, farm a few monsters.

Naturally, Sinon decided to help her friend out.

So here she was, on the rooftop of a building.

She prepared herself in this vantage point. Up here, she could see almost everything.

She aimed down her scope and decided to look at where her squadmates where. There were five of them in total. 

Metronomy and this one guy were hiding behind the wall of a two-story building. The other two were at the third floor of the building across. 

The squad had a crossfire position. Bullets would rain on the area they were aiming at.The squad that they would be ambushing would be taking fire from three sides.

She recalled their game plan, according to Metronomy, at least.

"Alright. Sinon, go find a vantage point that you can snipe from. For us four, we'll split in groups of two and send them a bullet barrage from both sides. We'll start on Sinon's signal, which is her firing her first bullet. It's all about the element of surprise."

She took a deep breath.

Their prey was here.

Sinon aimed down her scope and looked at the squad that they were going to ambush. Nothing really stood out for her. Two of them were using assault rifles. The other two were using submachine guns.

The last one, however, caught her attention.

A brown-haired male, wearing a midnight blue hoodie, black jeans, and a half face skull mask. It didn't seem like he had any weapons, but she noticed his M1911A1 - with a custom black finish - in a holster.

He seemed to be holding something else in his right hand, but she could not see it anyway, since there was now a player blocking her sights.

Sinon sighed softly.

"Well, he doesn't seem like a huge threat. I should take out one of those guys with assault rifles."

Thus, she aimed at the head of the one wielding an AKM. She took a deep breath and held her breath for a bit, before pulling the trigger. The .50 caliber round shot out from the muzzle of the PGM Ultima Ratio Hecate II that Sinon was using, and traveled all the way until it penetrated the player's head, instantly killing him.

The other remaining four were surprised by this, and all of them immediately took cover behind all the abandoned cars nearby.

Metronymy got the signal and tossed a hand grenade onto the area where they were hiding. She then prepared her M14EBR assault rifle.

One of the four shouted.

"GRENADE!"

They had all scattered, but unfortunately, one wasn't able to escape and was killed in the explosion.

The other one jumped out into the open, and was exposed to Sinon's line of fire.

Sinon quickly extracted the shell from her sniper rifle, and cocked the bolt back and forth to cycle in a new round.She aimed at his chest, and fired, leaving a huge hole in his upper body. He was dead too.

Metronomy and the other player - who was using a M4A1 - quickly began firing at where the last two were.

The other two members of Sinon's squad were both using SCAR-L's. They looked over the edge of the building and rained bullets down on the last two.

Sinon tried aiming down her scope to look at where the last two were, but the barrage of bullets made it hard for her to see anything.It seemed like the last two people had died.

She thought to herself.

(There's no way for them to escape something like this...)

Her thoughts then shifted to the brown haired male from earlier. The moment she saw him, she had a gut feeling telling her that this was a strong player. Would he simply just go out like that? From a simple ambush?

However, something suddenly rose from the smoke that resulted from the near endless bullets that rained down on that area.

Sinon's eyes widened, she couldn't believe what just happened.

The brown haired male from earlier jumped high up into the air before wall running up to the third floor. The two players with SCAR-L's were shocked seeing him about to leap at them. Before they could fire at him, he managed to slice off the head of one of the players.

Sinon then realized what he was holding in his hand all along.

A photon sword emitting a blue beam. The Masamune G9.

The other player stepped back and sprayed his weapon at him. He was right in front of him, so there was no way he could dodge.

Still, somehow, he leaned as far back as possible to dodge most of the bullets. Some did manage to hit him on his arm and his leg, but he was still overall fine.

Narrowing his eyes at the player, he threw his Masamune G9 like a boomerang, and it managed to lodge itself into the player's chest.

Rolling forward, he pulled out his M1911A1 and shot the player repeatedly in the head, emptying his seven round magazine. The player died, naturally.

(You've got to be kidding me! How the hell did he just annihilate two of our squad members?)

That was what was on Sinon's mind right now.

She was soon snapped out of it by Metronony who shouted out to her while firing some rounds at this mysterious player. The guy with the M4A1 did the same.

"SINON! TAKE HIM OUT!"

Sinon quickly nodded and took a deep breath while aiming down her scope, having him in his sights.

The brown haired player turned around after hearing a shout, and looked around before spotting Sinon, who didn't relocate somewhere else.

She fired a round, but he went down fast, diving for cover.

"Tch."

She groaned and cycled another round with the bolt of the sniper rifle. She has three shots left, and he knows where she is.

Still, there was no way for him to hit her at this range, right? All he had was a pistol and a sword.

Again, this player proved her wrong.

He peeked out and began firing at the concrete just beneath her. He managed to salvage a SCAR-L from one of the players he killed, and that was what he decided to use against her.

The concrete was a much bigger target than her, much easier to hit.The smoke that rose from the bullets hitting the concrete blocked her sight, and she retreated anyway, since she was being suppressed by the SCAR-L's full auto capability.

Sinon decided to crawl a bit to the left. If she got up then moved to the left, she'd be a bit faster but he would probably shoot at her again.The player took advantage of this, and jumped down, but not before quickly tossing away the SCAR-L in his hands and grabbing another one.

While he jumped down, he took a few shots from Metronomy and the other squadmate.His health dropped to half, and it was now in the yellow zone. 

After landing on the ground, he quickly ran up to a concrete barricade and stayed low.

Metronomy tapped her companion on the shoulder, signalling him to push ahead while she provided covering fire.

She then shouted again.

"Sinon, where are you?! We got this guy cornered, help us out!"

Sinon nodded quickly.

"Roger that!"

She got up again and rested the barrel on top of the concrete and aimed down her scope once more.

Meanwhile, the mysterious player put his ear just above the ground and closed his eyes. He could hear foosteps approaching. He focused his attention on just the sounds, nothing else.

He continued doing this until he managed to get a good enough guess on where this approaching enemy was, and how big the distance between them was.

He waited for the right opportunity to strike.

Just as Sinon aimed at the concrete barrier and prepared to fire, he sprayed all of the bullets in the magazine at their squadmate, and managed to hit him in his legs.The player then suddenly leapt up and towards their fellow squadmate.

Sinon could not keep up with his speed. It was nearly instantaneous.

(So fast! He's faster than even Kirito!)

In the blink of an eye, he slashed across his body with his photon sword, killing him instantly.

The player slowly stood up straight and stared at Metronomy. No doubt about it, he had his sights on her next.

Sinon quickly adapted to the situation and aimed at him once more. With her finger twitching on the trigger, she was about to pull it when he disappeared from her sights.

Her friend was also affected by the same thing. She looked around everywhere with a confused expression, trying to find him.

They both heard a sound similar to a sonic boom. The female player with the M14EBR turned around and saw the brown haired male, his feet planted on the wall behind him.

The area where his feet was on was full of cracks. It was like he put an immense amount of force on his feet.

The player leapt towards her in a similar manner to how he leapt towards the third guy he killed earlier.

Sinon had slightly adjusted by now, and fired a round at where she predicted he would be at. However, what happened next shocked her completely.

The player kicked Metronomy's knee in a way that her body would be taking the shot instead. She was killed by Sinon's own bullet, an unlucky case of friendly fire.

(No way... How'd he predict where I'd fire at?!)

The player, with his cold blue eyes, stared up at Sinon before disappearing again.

Chills ran up her spine as she heard loud footsteps all over the walls. She tossed her sniper rifle away quickly and tried pulling her H&K MP7 out, but it was already too late.

The player was behind her, and had the tip of his photon sword pointing at her nape.

Instinctively, she tossed her away secondary weapon away.Sinon was a bit confused.

Why is he hesitating to kill her?

She gazed back at where the ambush had taken place.

She saw a sliced off car door, and a nearby car that was missing a door. The car door was a bit covered in bullet holes, but some bullets did not manage to penetrate it.

The female sniper soon asked the player a question.

"What are you waiting for?"

The player spoke through his half-face skull mask.

"Nothing."

He turned off his Masamune G9 and turned around. Sinon was even more confused than before. She did not understand his motives at all. She decided to ask him some more questions.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to SBC Glocken."

"Why did you spare me?"

"It would hurt for you to lose such a valuable weapon - which is one of the rarest drops in game."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"You're right, sorry. It's actually because you look very cute."

Sinon blushed a bit, but tried to keep her composure. She did not bother trying to get her weapon again to kill him. He's apparently nice enough to spare her. Still, she did not believe him and his stupid reason for sparing her.

"Sounds like bullshit to me."

"You want the real reason?"

"Yeah."

"You just remind me of someone. Don't think too much about it. See you around."

He hopped off the building afterwards. Sinon quickly peeked over the edge, but didn't see any sign of him. He was gone in a flash, basically.

Her head was full of questions, but one question stood above all.

"...who the hell was that guy?"


	3. Chapter 3

"Please, sir. I really need this job."

"Alright, look here. You put in your résumé that you graduated from high school. One of my employees did a background check on you, and it turns out that you dropped out of high school."

"Sir, with all due respect, that was because of-"

"The SAO incident. I'm aware."

"Then why-"

"That's not the only thing. Your medical background is also a bit worrying, especially your condition. I'm sorry, but you're unqualified and also unfit for work."

"Sir, please. I've been working my best for one week already."

"You're a good person, don't get me wrong. However, there are rules and regulations that we have to follow in this workplace. Now, I'm not willing to risk anything for you. This is just how business goes."

"…"

"Do you understand?"

"…Yes, sir…"

"You can leave now."

The brown haired male with brown eyes sighed softly and nodded before walking out of the manager's office. 

He groaned in frustration as he left the building, still wearing the employee uniform. He decided that he would just change once he got back home.

He pulled out his phone and opened the notes app and looked at the screen with discontent.

[Jobs]  
[× Janitor]  
[× Waiter]  
[× Delivery Guy]  
[o Fast Food Cashier]  
[o Gas Station Attendant]

He proceeded to edit one little thing in the list.

[Jobs]  
[× Janitor]  
[× Waiter]  
[× Delivery Guy]  
[× Fast Food Cashier]  
[o Gas Station Attendant]

He closed his phone afterwards. The young man was about to put it back in his pocket, but it suddenly started ringing. It's probably a call from someone.

Not bothering to check what number was calling him right now, he immediately answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Oh, it's you."

"Come on, don't be so cold."

"What do you want?"

"Me, Kirito, and the others are heading over to Dicey Cafe today. You should come join us."

"This is the sixth time you've asked me. You already know my answer."

"No, again? Why?"

"I'm busy."

"You're always busy when I bring this up."

"I need to earn some money in GGO. Gotta pay for the connection fee, and rent too."

"Wait up-"

"Bye."

He hangs up and puts his phone back in his pocket, but not before shutting it off so that he won't receive any more calls. He continued walking down the street until he reached the apartment complex he lived in.

He heads inside and takes the elevator to the third floor. He turns right, and walks all the way down to the room at the end of the hall.

He brings out his keys and unlocks the door then walks inside. He follows his usual routine. He locks the door behind him, he sets the keys down on the table, and gets changed into a white t shirt and shorts.

The male walks to the refrigerator, and brings out a bottle of water and drinks it.

The room is a mess. There's cans of Coca-Cola everywhere. Some empty boxes of pizza are on the floor. Clothes that seem to be from last week are just laying around near the closet.

He sighs softly and walks to his bed before laying down. Putting an AmuSphere on his head, which has been plugged in since earlier, he closes his eyes.

He speaks his words of escape. His only solace from such a cruel world.

"Link Start!"

\---

"I need to earn some money in GGO. Gotta pay for the connection fee, and rent too."

"Wait up-"

"Bye."

The line hangs up.

Asuna lowers her head a bit. She sets her phone down on the table. She has sadness written all over her face.

Kirito quickly notices this, and walks up to her to hold her hand. The chestnut-haired girl smiles faintly and leans into her boyfriend's warmth a bit.

"What's wrong?"

"He said he's not coming..."

"I see… I'm sorry to hear that…"

Lisbeth, Silica, and Klein are staring at them. The two girls have eyes filled with jealousy. Meanwhile, the working man who just got off his job sighs a bit and mumbles.

"Must be nice to have a girlfriend."

The jealous girls sigh in unison. Lisbeth shrugs a bit, and rolls her eyes away.

"They're always so lovey dovey everyday, even in public."

Silica nods in agreement.

"I guess they don't care that other people see them like this."

It was at this moment that the door suddenly opened. A dark haired girl walked in, wearing a light blue coat with jeans. She had oval rimmed glasses on, and had her hair tied in small ribbons at the sides of her face.

Everyone except her greeted in unison.

"Sinon!"

The girl smiled and waved as she closed the door behind her.

"Hello, everyone."

Kirito turned around and looked at her, a faint smile curving his lips.

"You took longer than expected."

Sinon rolled her eyes a bit and walked up to him before punching him in the shoulder.

"I got caught up in some things."

After preparing a few things, they decided to start the celebration.

Everyone gathered around a huge round table and had their drinks in their hands. They all cheered and clinked their drinks with each other before drinking up.

There were many different conversations around the table. Lisbeth and Silica were talking to each other about their homework in school. Klein and Agil had a mutual talk about work. Kirito, Asuna, and Sinon were talking about Sinon's endeavors in Gun Gale Online.

"Sinon, I heard your squad got destroyed last night."

"It was my friend's squad, but yes."

Kirito nodded, and was curious about what happened. Asuna was too, which is why she decided to encourage Sinon to tell them about it.

"It must have been a very strong squad."

"Actually, it was just one player."

Asuna and Kirito stared at her in disbelief before shouting.

"EHH??!!"

Sinon covered her ears for a bit before sighing.

"You guys don't have to be so loud. I'm telling the truth. It was a guy with a Masamune G9 and a M1911A1."

Kirito and Asuna knew what the Masamune G9 was. It was similar to Kirito's Kagemitsu G4, but instead of a purple beam, it emitted a blue beam.

They pretended to know what a M1911A1 was. In truth, they had no idea what it was. They just nodded, before Kirito decided to reply.

"Don't tell me a copycat beat your squad, Sinon."

The dark haired girl quickly shook her head, and spoke.

"He wasn't copying your Bullet Deflect playstyle, Kirito. He didn't need to. He was very fast, even my eyes couldn't keep up with his speed."

Asuna nodded and wanted to inquire about something.

"What did he look like?"

Sinon tried to remember.

"He wore mostly midnight blue clothing… and he had a half face skull mask. He had brown hair and blue eyes…"

Agil then suddenly bumped into the conversation with a smile. It seemed like he knew a thing or two about this mysterious player.

"Some of my customers talk a lot about him. He's pretty famous in the GGO community."

The three looked at him, their eyes basically saying that they wanted to know more.

"He's a bit of a speed demon. He's a mercenary, willing to go along with squads if they have stuffed wallets. From what I've heard, he's really good."

Kirito was skeptical about this. How come he's never heard of him before.

"Why wasn't he in the third Bullet of Bullets? With me and Sinon?"

Agil shrugged. He didn't know the real reason.

"Rumours say he was hospitalized."

Sinon was the one who spoke this time.

"Hospitalized for what?"

Agil shook his head slowly.

"No one knows."

The three nodded slowly. They all wanted to know more about the player. In Kirito's mind, this player could be an SAO survivor.

Asuna asked one last question.

"What do the players in GGO call him?"

Agil looked at the three, and saw that they really wanted to know. He thought that there'd be no harm if he told them the player's name.

"His nickname's the Blue Devil. His in-game name is Tetsuya."

Just like that, Kirito and Asuna went silent. Even Klein, who was eavesdropping the conversation, went silent as well.

The laugher stopped.

Agil, Lisbeth, Silica, and Sinon were confused. They didn't know why the mood died down, and why the others were silent.

Sinon looked at Kirito and Asuna.

"Why? What's with the name Tetsuya?"

Klein looked like he was thinking seriously. He then spoke up.

"Midnight blue clothing... Insane agility… It can't be him…"

Asuna held Kirito's hand tightly.

"So… he was playing GGO, after all…"

Kirito saw the look of confusion on Sinon's face, and knew that the others were confused as well. He knew he had to explain.

"Tetsuya… was a friend of Asuna's…"

Lisbeth looked at Asuna. She never knew about this.

"Why'd he stop being friends with Asuna? You said he was a friend, it's like something happened."

Asuna lowered her head, and Kirito sighed.

"Tetsuya… was a well-known member of Laughing Coffin."


	4. Chapter 4

"Alright, listen up!"

One player standing on top of a car shouted out, gathering the other players around him.

"For today's hunting, the most in-demand item in the market is the Starship Guardian metal parts!"

Some players expressed their happiness by shouting, while others groaned and scratched their heads.

"Other monsters are still in play, though you might not get as much money! That's all for now, good luck!"

Upon hearing him finish his sentence, all of the players scattered in many different directions. Everyone was eager to get the most in-demand item because of its sheer value.

One of those players was the brown-haired blue eyed player with midnight blue clothing.

The Blue Devil, Tetsuya.

Everyone wanted to get the expensive items in order to buy expensive weapons, or even just expensive clothing. A fashion statement, a way of telling other players that they're better because they look better.

For Tetsuya, it was different.

(If I get that item and sell it to an eager buyer, I can cover the connection fee expenses this month… I just have to worry about rent after that…)

He sighed a bit. It was a bit ridiculous that he was doing all this for such a stupid reason. Still, money is money. He can't really complain.

Especially when this is pretty much the only VR game that has a in-game currency to real world currency conversion system.

That's one of the reasons why there are professionals in this game, and why it's a dedicated e-sports game.

Tetsuya decided to focus on the task at hand. To find the Starship Guardian, and kill it.

…and hopefully get the metal parts drop.

The Starship Guardian's a very agile creature. He had to hope that it would be in a large and open area.

Most monsters were underground, they resided within a complex cave system with tunnels extending as far as four kilometers.

Tetsuya spent a lot of time underground, mainly to hunt for monsters to earn money, but also sometimes to just explore the damn thing.

He knew of a shortcut that not many were aware of. He intentionally slowed down to stay away from the pack of players that were frantically running around.

As soon as they were all far up ahead, he saw his chance, and turned left to enter a hidden tunnel.

Anyone would miss it, they'd just run past it. The only way to notice it is to stop and turn around. In a dark place, though, many would rather keep their attention forward.

Tetsuya walked down the long and winding tunnel alone. This would save him five minutes, more than enough to defeat the monster before anyone else arrived.

That is, if the monster in question was in the spawn that he was heading to right now. He knew of three spawn spots, this was the closest one. There could be others, he hasn't seen enough Starship Guardians to know them all.

A few minutes later, the area widened up, but there was no sign of anything. He still remained cautious though, and looked up.

(Nothing here…)

Tetsuya looked back at the way he came from before looking back forward. 

(The next closest spawn is down the tunnel to the left.)

He walked into the left tunnel, and the area narrowed up again. He had a gut feeling that he'd be encountering someone or something soon, so he grabbed his Masamune G9 from his belt, and turned off the safety of his M1911A1, but kept that American made sidearm in its holster.

Tetsuya continued walking until the area widened up again. He heard some noises, and silently walked across the dark arena-like structure, and looked around.

No monster in sight.

That was the least of his worries, though.

He heard footsteps stop right behind him, and he turned his head slightly to look at who was behind him.

"Behemoth."

"Blue Devil."

"What brings you here?"

Tetsuya stared at the GE M134 Minigun he was wielding. He couldn't even imagine the rate that those bullets would be flying at.

"I'm here for the Starship Guardian. You?"

"Same here, but… I'm here for a client."

"I'm guessing he'll pay you a large sum of money."

He slowly hovered his thumb just above the ON/OFF switch for the Masamune G9. Behemoth smiled and laughed softly before nodding.

"Correct."

"I guess we mercenaries understand each other."

"Yes, indeed."

Behemoth's finger was twitching on the trigger, while Tetsuya's thumb was already on the ON/OFF switch. They stared at each other for a few more seconds.

Behemoth pulled the trigger at the same time that Tetsuya activated the photon sword.

At this range, Behemoth had the advantage. Bullets immediately shot out at a mighty 6,000 rounds per minute.

Tetsuya had no choice but to dodge, he stepped to the side quickly, but Behemoth did not stop firing. He started moving the gun around in Tetsuya's direction.

(Fuck…)

Tetsuya began sprinting around him in circles. In order to not be an easy target, he jumped around and ran along the walls every now and then. 

Still, he could not come close at all. He wouldn't be able to approach him for another minute or so, and by then, he'd probably be dead. He couldn't really run around like this forever.

He suddenly misstepped and lost his balance, falling back down to the ground. 

The man with the minigun smirked before firing repeatedly at where he fell. Tetsuya quickly hopped back up on his feet, and tried to step to the side, but it was a bit too late.

He got shot in the shoulders and legs, and took quite a hit.

Glaring at Behemoth, Tetsuya quickly threw a fragmentation grenade at him, forcing him to retreat before it exploded and stop firing his weapon.

Having bought himself some time, he deployed a smoke grenade and hid behind the wall of smoke that appeared after.

Behemoth laughed softly.

"You can't hide in there forever, Tetsuya!"

He pulled the trigger of the minigun again, and fired nonstop at the smoke, spraying the bullets all over.

He then heard a voice shout out.

"I'm not hiding over there."

His eyes widened in disbelief, and he looked up, and saw Tetsuya wall running. He couldn't believe it.

(Damn trickster!)

He tried his best to aim up at him, but Tetsuya threw another grenade at him, and he couldn't react in time.

It wasn't a fragmentation grenade, nor a smoke grenade.

The grenade exploded, and an electric burst occured, with Behemoth well within the radius.

It was a stun grenade.

With him now on his knees and unable to move, Tetsuya jumped from the wall, and leapt towards him.

"Too slow."

Tetsuya put so much force in his legs when he jumped, that he quickly covered the distance between them in less than a second.

Jumping at an angle where Tetsuya would go right past him, he slashed his sword across his neck so fast, the attack itself wasn't really visible to Behemoth's eyes.

Tetsuya slid across the ground, and deactivated his Masamune G9, then hooked it back to his belt.

He turned around and saw what was left of Behemoth. The entire area above his neck was cut clean right off.

He stared as his remains exploded, and turned into red crystal fragments. At that point, he turned back around once more.

Acting as if nothing happened, he put his hands in his pockets, and continued walking forward again.

"Good grief. So uncivilized."

\---

"Tetsuya… was a well-known killer for Laughing Coffin."

Everyone stared at him in shock.

Lisbeth was the first to raise a question. She looked at Kirito as she spoke.

"Laughing Coffin… you knew someone from Laughing Coffin?"

Kirito nodded in response. He lowered his head a bit and continued to explain.

"He was my friend too. We were both beta testers. He was considered one of the brightest minds among the clearers. His leadership and charisma were second only to Heathcliff's."

Sinon narrowed her eyes a bit. Based on what Kirito says about him, he should be a good guy.

"So why'd he become a killer?"

Kirito looked at Sinon as she asked the question. There was some guilt in Kirito's eyes, as if he had something to do with it.

"As optimistic as he was, he was exposed to the cruel reality of the world of SAO. He witnessed the humiliation and death of his friend with his own eyes... and that was done by the hand of the third in command of the Knights of the Blood."

Everyone then looked at Asuna. No one knew about the corruption in the guilds, especially in the Knights of the Blood. All of this was a surprise. Kirito held Asuna's hand and continued.

"He vowed revenge, and left the clearers. He eventually became one of the Nine."

Klein decided to take over for Kirito on this part, and let him console Asuna.

"By the Nine, he means… the nine most dangerous player killers in Laughing Coffin. They're the upper echelon of that PK guild, they're all accomplished duelists."

Sinon recalled the movements of the mysterious player she met, this Blue Devil.

He didn't use any necessary actions. It was all efficient. It may not look beautiful, but it did the job. It was a killing playstyle, that did things in the simplest way possible, in the shortest amount of time.

This could only be attained through experience. He's probably killed a lot of players.

A strong player with a dark past.

Sinon felt relieved when Kirito shared her pain when he confessed that he killed a few people in self defense, just like how she shot a robber in self defense.

This guy, however, was different.

Sinon felt rather gravitated towards this Blue Devil. What would be his side of the story? What exactly goes on in his head?

Perhaps she has a lot more in common with him.

To be completely honest, Sinon didn't really feel like Kirito was affected by the people he's killed. He's probably grown accustomed to this fact, a result of his strong mentality he acquired from SAO.

When she looked into Tetsuya's icy cold blue eyes at that time, she felt as if she saw a broken soul underneath. She saw a similarity between that hidden soul, and herself when she was a child.

She couldn't even imagine the trauma he went through.

What made her rather pissed off was that Kirito and Asuna used to be his friends. Now that SAO was behind them, they should have tried to reach out to him. Even if he pushed them away, they should have tried more.

She wonders if he's had anyone care for him at all.

At the very least, she wanted to be someone who would be there for him.

She remembered how lonely she felt when she still wasn't over her phobia of guns. He probably feels worse.

As silly as it sounds, she wanted to find him and melt the ice she felt from his eyes.

No matter what it took.

They were similar, after all.

Just like how Kirito helped her move on, she wanted to do the same for him.

That all depends, though…

…on whether or not he'll let her in.


	5. Chapter 5

Tetsuya continued walking along the tunnels, in search for the Starship Guardian. He had already been to two of its known spawns. That left the last one he knew of, and it was the farthest away.

He planned to reach it as fast as possible, but he was slowed down by Behemoth earlier, who attempted to kill him so that he could have the Starship Guardian for himself.

There was that one idea Tetsuya had, where he would offer to work together with Behemoth to defeat the Starship Guardian. However, he realized that the money he'd earn from that proposal would be less than expected.

It was better to take this solo.

His health was now down to half. He decided to use a first aid kit when he got closer to the last spawn that he knew of.

(I've got a really long distance to cover... Let's just hope no one else has found the spawn.)

Fifteen minutes pass.

Tetsuya stopped for a bit, and applied a first aid kit on himself, putting his health back to full.

Stretching his arms out while yawning, he then scratched the back of his head and began walking again.

The spawn was close now.

The tunnel widened out again, and he found himself entering a very large arena-like structure, similar to the area where he fought Behemoth.

He walked to the middle and sighed.

(Is it not here?)

All of a sudden, something landed behind him, and a metal sword was slashed horizontally at him.

Tetsuya managed to jump away in time, but the sword managed to graze his right cheek.

He watched as the dust settled, and he soon saw his target.

A large steel mecha with a metal futuristic looking longsword, which it wielded with both hands. That wasn't the only thing, though, the metal sword even conducted lightning.

According to lore, mechas like these were operated by fully capable AI and protected the ships that roamed the galaxy. Now it appears to be just some lost junk, without purpose. It's filled with scratches everywhere, and some parts are exposed.

The materials obtained from this thing were used in crafting the infamous Starship Metal Estoc that Death Gun used.

Tetsuya calmly grabbed his Masamune G9 from his belt and activated it, unleashing the familiar blue beam.

He stared up at the steel mecha that stood before him.

"Sorry. You're worth a lot of money, and I need that."

The Starship Guardian seemingly responded by attempting a wide swing at him. Tetsuya saw it coming, and quickly slid past him before it could make its attack.

He was about to go for its back when it suddenly planted its feet hard into the ground and turned its body around quickly, doing a full spin with its sword.

Tetsuya held his photon sword's handle with both his hands and blocked the attack. He felt his feet slide back across the ground from the impact.

(It's both strong and fast.)

The mecha quickly raised its sword up to perform a heavy downward slash. He quickly rolled out of the way to dodge it, and stepped back to give himself some room.

However, it rushed right at him and began a barrage of attacks.

Tetsuya did his best to dodge the attacks, blocking some that he could not avoid. He couldn't retaliate though. The Starship Guardian was relentless in its offense that Tetsuya couldn't do anything about it except make sure that he wasn't hit.

(Dammit... I have to find an opening.)

He was doing fine dodging its attack barrage, their speed was roughly the same. However, it stopped its flurry of attacks and began swinging with power and precision - something Tetsuya could not match.

With each attack that he attempted to block, he felt his feet slide back across the ground and groaned a bit. He had to put a lot of effort into blocking those attacks since they had a lot of force behind them.

He was better off dodging its attacks. He did it as efficient as possible, only using sidesteps and backsteps to narrowly avoid them.

However, the AI learned of his pattern, and used a combination of both speed and power. It performed a quick thrust, forcing him to step to the side. It then twirled its arms around to follow up with a very powerful downward slash. He had no way of dodging it.

Tetsuya raised his arms up to block the attack. However, the attack was so powerful that it sent Tetsuya down to the ground - his head facing down.

He was disarmed too. The sheer impact made him lose his photon sword, and it was sent flying away.

The brown haired male quickly shook his head, and instinctively rolled to the side. This was a good thing to do, since if he hadn't done that, he would've been skewered by the Starship Guardian's metal sword.

Tetsuya quickly grabbed something from his inventory then managed to stand up and turn around to face it, but the steel mecha swung its sword at him again. He couldn't react in time and tried to absorb the impact with his arm. 

The metal sword collided with his body, and conducted electricity, stunning him and doing further damage to him.

He was sent flying away and rolled across the ground, not being able to catch himself since he couldn't move at all.

His health dropped down to the yellow zone again. One more hit, and it would be a very bad situation.

The Starship Guardian rushed at him once more. It was most likely going to unleash a barrage of attacks once more.

Tetsuya prepared himself mentally for what he would do as soon as the stun wore off. He only had at most a second to pull this off.

The steel mecha was about to slam its sword onto him, an attack that would mean certain death. As soon as the stun debuff finished, he seemingly pressed something held tightly in his hand.

He looked at the C4 he placed earlier when he was hit by the metal sword. Quickly turning around, the knockback of the ensuing explosion made him roll across the ground for a few feet.

His health was in the red zone now.

Getting back on his feet, he pulled the pin of a fragmentation grenade and tossed it at the steel mecha. He then pulled out his M1911A1, and began shooting what he assumed are its optical sensors after the grenade exploded.

He went a bit closer to ensure accurate shots, and eventually, he managed to destroy one of its optical sensors.

The Starship Guardian was even more aggressive than before, but it swung its metal sword around widely, as if it could not see properly.

Tetsuya backed off, and remained at a safe distance. He saw his Masamune G9 on the ground somewhere, and slowly picked it up.

He had a smile on his face, it was like he was enjoying the fight the entire time.

"Ah, how bothersome..."

He activated his Masamune, and slowly walked towards the Starship Guardian.

Tetsuya placed an immense amount of force on his legs, and quickly closed the distance between them in less than a second.

He then thrusted his photon sword into the exposed area near the chest, and twisted it around a bit to cause as much damage as possible.

Its operational mainframe went haywire, and it started going berzerk. It wasn't going down without a fight, though. It prepared to stab both itself and Tetsuya.

Tetsuya quickly realized this, and pulled his sword out before entering a stance quickly.

Using high leveled footwork and efficient movements, he slashed and thrusted repeatedly at the Starship Guardian at high speeds. In the span of five seconds, he was able to perform at least twenty or maybe even thirty attacks.

"HAAAAAAAAH!!!!"

At the end of his attacks, he stabbed his photon sword deep into the exposed area before turning around and pushing the sword up and carrying it forward - basically slicing it in half.

He took a deep breath, and turned around in time to see its corpse explode and turn into red crystal fragments.

He sighed a bit and deactivated his Masamune G9, hooking it back to his belt. He then received a notice.

[Rewards]  
[Starship Guardian Metal Parts ×1]

Putting his hands in his pockets, he decided to walk back the way he came from. His job here was done.

"Well, that was fun."

\---

Back at the Dicey Cafe, the conversation regarding Gun Gale Online's Blue Devil has long been set aside. The usual cheerful atmosphere had returned.

Kirito and Asuna were, as usual, being lovey dovey with each other. Lisbeth and Silica were being jealous again. Klein was drinking like there was no tomorrow, and Agil laughed seeing the happiness on everyone's faces.

As for Sinon, well, she was seated alone by herself somewhere. She was thinking. She couldn't get it out of her head, the mystery surrounding Tetsuya.

It was like a puzzle she couldn't solve, and that frustrated her a bit. 

(There's definitely something up between Tetsuya and Kirito. What exactly could he be hiding?)

Out of nowhere, Kirito sits down beside her and leans back into the chair.

"What's on your mind, Sinon?"

The dark haired girl looked at him and shrugged.

"Just thinking about that Tetsuya guy you mentioned."

The black haired male lowered his head a bit and nodded slowly.

"I see..."

Sinon readjusted her glasses and glanced at Kirito every now and then. She was trying to figure out what was on his mind.

Earlier, Kirito and Asuna looked like they were guilty of something. It's like they personally had something to do with it. 

This reaction made Sinon even more curious. 

Kirito never mentioned anything about Tetsuya when he confessed things about Laughing Coffin.

What exactly was the situation that made Kirito not want anything to do with Tetsuya?

Did a rift grow between them?

Did Tetsuya kill a close friend of Kirito?

Did Kirito cause Tetsuya to become a player killer?

She wanted to know. That was the missing piece. This would help her understand why Tetsuya preferred to be away from Kirito and the others.

This would provide the context.

Kirito then spoke.

"Well, I should see if this guy's the real deal or not."

Sinon then looked at him.

"What makes you think that this guy could be an impersonator?"

Kirito sighed softly.

"You never know. Some people like to impersonate players from SAO. Tetsuya would be no exception, especially when he's a famous player killer."

Sinon rolled her eyes a bit.

"You just hope it's not actually him."

Kirito smiled awkwardly and scratched his cheek slowly. He did not know what to say to that response. It felt like being caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Sinon then asked him.

"So how are you going to check if he's the real deal, Mr. Detective?" 

Kirito looked at her then looked at the ground.

"I'll go back to GGO, and I'll test him myself."


	6. Chapter 6

Tetsuya sighs as he completes the transaction.

His client was more than generous enough, deciding to buy at his proposed higher price.

Well, it wasn't that far fetched. This was a rare item, capable of crafting very powerful weapons. Anyone would pay a high price for this thing.

"Pleasure doing business."

Tetsuya nodded in response to the words of his client and waved good bye as he walked away.

(All I have to do is just convert this back to real world currency, then I can pay for the connection fee right away.)

Tetsuya sunk his hands into his pockets and continued walking for a bit.

He is walking down the street. Neon signs illuminate the main road. As for the alleyways, the lights flicker. There is a sense of dystopia here.

It's a civilization reborn, but it's not in the best shape. The world is gritty and oftentimes dark. The color palette sometimes reminds Tetsuya of sepia, perhaps they made it this way so that it would appear more realistic.

He's been playing for hours already. He decided to check the time by putting the menu up. Swiping his finger, he brought up the display and saw the time. 

It was a little past midnight. 12:04 A.M.

(Maybe I've had enough for today… I already finished what I came here to do anyway.)

He looked at the log out button, and prepared to press it.

When his finger was about to touch the log out button, he stopped. Memories came rushing back.

Before he even realized it, the log out button was gone. He began to panic a bit.

(What the hell's happening…?)

His heart rate increased a bit, and his breathing got heavier.

Looking up, he saw a floating castle in the sky. 

Aincrad.

The area around him was blue. Sky blue. It was like he was up in the clouds.

His surroundings became distorted as his vision seemingly zoomed into the magnificent structure above him.

Tetsuya was back at the Starting Plaza.

This was where it all started.

He was still in his GGO outfit, but everyone else had their outfits from SAO - as he remembered.

They all pointed him, then turned into blue crystal fragments.

The game's representation of dying.

His brain was overloaded with all sorts of images. From what he could make out, the images he saw were of people dying.

People dying by his own hand.

He then heard voices. Screams of people dying.

Three words popped up in his mind. Clearly written in white on a black background.

DEATH.

ANGER.

BETRAYAL.

He clenched his left hand tightly. He wanted it to stop already.

(Make it stop…. Make it stop….! MAKE IT STOP!!!)

He closed his eyes tightly, and clenched both his hands into fists.

The voices stopped, and he opened his eyes.

Everything was back to normal, as if nothing happened.

It was simply a figment of his imagination.

He quickly looked at the log out button, and saw that it was still there.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he composed himself and shook his head gently.

The brown haired male pressed the log out button, and looked up again.

He saw the world warp around him, as if he was being beamed up to space.

The world then turned black.

.  
.  
.

Tetsuya Yamazaki opened his eyes.

His brown eyes slowly looked around the real world, and could not see clearly. His vision was blurry, and he felt a headache kick in.

He slowly took the AmuSphere off his head and let it fall to the ground softly.

He closed his eyes for a bit, waiting for everything to settle in.

Once the headache wore off, he opened his eyes again, and he could see more clearly.

The brown haired male heard a rumble from his stomach.

"Agh…"

Groaning a bit, he stood up and went to the refrigerator, then grabbed some frozen pizza slices out.

He went to his microwave, and heated up the frozen pizza slices from earlier. While that was going on, he went back to the fridge and grabbed a can of soda.

Placing the can on the table, he sat down on a nearby chair and checked his phone.

[4 missed calls: Asuna]  
[13 new messages: Asuna]

"What the hell does she want now…?"

He picked a random message from the thirteen, and read the contents slowly.

[From: Asuna]  
[Hey, can we talk? I want to ask a few things.]

He simply deleted all her messages, and did not bother replying or calling her back.

There was no need to.

He heard a loud ping. The microwave.

He grabbed a plate and metal tongs from the kitchen and went to the microwave. He carefully puts the pizzas on the plate then sets the plate down on the table, beside the can of soda.

He sits down again, and begins to silently eat a slice.

Tetsuya begins thinking to himself.

(I've earned enough money to pay for the connection fee. All that's left is the rent. The question is how do I earn the money for rent…)

He soon finished one pizza slice and had a sip from the can of soda near him. He then grabbed another pizza slice and continued eating.

Rent was due at the end of the month. Today was February 17. He had around 10-12 days to earn the money he needed.

It wasn't enough time. Even if he pulled off all-nighters, 12 days was not enough to earn enough money for rent.

He managed to earn enough money for the connection fee in two months, with the Starship Guardian Metal Parts finally secured the last of the cost required.

Earning at least twice the amount in around a quarter of the time was impossible.

If he still had his job, it would be possible.

However, now that gaming was his only income, it really wasn't.

(How about mercenary jobs?)

He thought about it for a bit before shaking his head.

(No… Those are rare to come across this time of the year, and I doubt many will offer high paying jobs anyway…)

He scratched his head a bit roughly, then finished up another slice of pizza.

Seeing that there was one last slice, he grabbed it and started eating it.

As soon as he had the first bite on the last slice of pizza, he felt his phone vibrate momentarily.

"Huh…"

He opened up his phone and checked the notification.

It seemed to be a new post on the official website of Gun Gale Online. He decided to check it out.

[GGO-OFFICIAL]  
[SEVEN DAYS LEFT BEFORE THE 4TH BULLET OF BULLETS!]

The post caught his interest a bit.

(Ah, the Bullet of Bullets… That's the famous tournament that Trap Kirito won… If I recall correctly, he won the third Bullet of Bullets with this female sniper named Sinon…)

He continued reading, and soon enough, he found something that really caught his eye.

[REGISTER NOW TO WIN PRIZES!]

He read that part over and over and over again.

(Prizes? As in cash prizes??)

Just like that, he found the solution to his problems. This was it. If he can manage to win the Bullet of Bullets, he can manage to pay rent using the prize money he would earn.

(Seven days from now… So it's on the 24th of February. That's more than enough time to register.)

Still, he hesitated a bit.

He never liked fame. If winning this event meant putting his name out into the spotlight, he wasn't sure how he'd deal with it.

He always avoided the Bullet of Bullets because of this reason.

At this point, however, Tetsuya was already running out of options. He had no other choice but to join if he wanted to earn money fast.

(This is probably the most ridiculous reason anyone has had to join a tournament. Not for recognition, not for honor, but for money.)

He sighed a bit and bit his lip.

The brown haired male gave it some thought while eating the last of his pizza. He then gulped down the rest of his soda. 

Crushing the can in his hand, he tossed it into the pile of cans gently. Maybe he'll just clean up tomorrow.

He weighed the risks in joining. There wasn't really much risk, to be honest. The fame would bother him, yes. However, as long as he didn't care, that would disappear quickly.

He was here for the money, and nothing else.

The rewards would be spectacular. Considering the nature of this event, the prize will definitely be rare and expensive. He'd get more than what he needed, which was nice.

The rewards outweighed the risks. Logically, it was worth it.

"How bothersome…"

He took a deep breath, and nodded slowly.

(Fine. I'll do it. Ugh.)

He was a bit annoyed at himself for this decision. As they say, though, desperate times require desperate measures.

The first thing that came to Tetsuya's mind was that he should prepare. Most of the players in this event would most likely have adapted to Kirito's Bullet Deflect playstyle, and have probably created counters to melee only players already.

He made a checklist to complete in the following days:

1.) Improve aim. Make it more consistent at mid ranges, at the very least.  
2.) Create counters against long range players.  
3.) Get familiar with all sorts of weapons to learn about the strengths and weaknesses.

These three things would help winning the Bullet of Bullets much easier for Tetsuya.

He wasn't sure of the competition he'd face. He's never joined the Bullet of Bullets before. To be honest, he's a bit nervous about the players he'd fight against.

If he recalled correctly, the Bullet of Bullets worked like this.

There would first be the Preliminaries, which consists of many different one-on-one duels. Each player was assigned to a certain group, and each group had a ladder style tournament going on.

Each group would then have two finalists.

Thirty finalists would emerge from the preliminaries.

The Finals was simply a thirty man battle royale on a huge island.

Before he could think any further and finish up his preparatory planning, his phone vibrated and rang.

Someone was calling him.

He looked at whose number it was, and narrowed his eyes.

[CALLING: Kirito]

(…)

He slowly brought the phone up to his ear, and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Tetsuya."

"What the hell do you want, Kirito?"

His voice was filled with displeasure. He did not like Kirito at all. Just the mere mention of his name was enough to piss him off.

"Just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Bullshit."

"Well, you got me there."

Tetsuya sighed a bit. He wanted to know what the hell this prick wanted.

"So why are you actually calling, asshole?"

"Well, I just wanted to confirm something."

"And that is?"

The brown haired male felt a bit uncomfortable now. Something about Kirito's tone made him feel wary.

"You're… the Blue Devil in Gun Gale Online, right?"

"…"

"You went silent. So it is true."

He felt a bit more pissed than before. He just wanted to go through the phone and punch him in the face already.

"So?"

"Well, it's just surprising, that's all."

"Is that all you wanted to say?"

Tetsuya clenched his fist tightly. He began to tap his foot onto the floor repeatedly.

"Well, I have one more thing to say."

"What?"

"Meet me just outside the General Governor's Office later, at 3:00 in the afternoon."

He narrowed his eyes a bit more.

"Why?"

"I just want to see if you've still got it as GGO's Blue Devil."

"What? You want to duel? What if I don't want to?"

What was the meaning of all this? He couldn't figure it out. It just came out of nowhere.

"You don't have to, but if you can't even beat me, you're not even capable of winning the Bullet of Bullets."

"How'd you-"

"Asuna's told me of your situation. You're in need of quick money, so I guessed that you'd be interested in it."

Tetsuya gripped his phone tightly. Who the hell was Kirito to say that he was not capable of winning the Bullet of Bullets. He didn't even face the strongest players yet thanks to Death Gun, and he wasn't even around for a year. He was just a one-trick pony.

"I couldn't care less about whether or not you think I'm capable of winning the BoB, but you're really pushing the fucking limits, Kirito."

"Oh? So what'll it be, Tetsuya?"

"Fine then. You want to dance? Let's dance."


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm sorry, Tetsuya. You can't stay in the Clearers anymore."

Tetsuya remained silent with his head lowered. This was out of nowhere. Not even in a million years did he expect this.

He looked at the people behind Heathcliff. He saw Kirito and Asuna. They both looked as if they were filled with guilt.

"Anything you want to say?"

The fact that Heathcliff asked him that last question insulted him.

"…I can still help-"

Tetsuya tried to defend himself one last time, but the leader of the Divine Dragon Alliance quickly shut him down.

"I understand that your strategies and leadership were essential in the Clearers' victories as of late, but your subpar combat stats aren't going to be of much use sooner or later."

At this point, Tetsuya had lost it and snapped.

"It was BECAUSE OF ME THAT YOUR STUPID ALLIANCE HAD NO CASUALTIES IN THE 37TH FLOOR BOSS RAID DESPITE YOUR STUPID DECISION TO RUSH FORWARD!"

Everyone in the room went silent, including the leader of the Divine Dragon Alliance, and even Heathcliff. This caused Tetsuya to continue.

"I'm being kicked out because I actually put my brain to good use? Or is it because I just have too much common sense in my head? In that case, who the hell should fucking adjust then?!"

Heathcliff soon spoke up after.

"Your strategies and critical thinking are indeed important. However, all of our players here are improving at steady rates. Eventually, someone like you won't be needed much. Your strategies can simply be taught to them, and perhaps you can teach them yourself. This can be a condition that we can agree on if you wish to remain a member of the Clearers. However, you will no longer be on the front lines. Do you accept?"

Tetsuya was just perplexed.

"After everything I have done, this is how you treat me?"

Heathcliff was silent. He did not give an answer, for he knew that Tetsuya wouldn't agree no matter what. There was no more room for negotiation.

With that, and a heavy heart, Tetsuya turned around and walked out of the room, with no intention of coming back.

He could see the looks in all their eyes. It all said one common thing to him.

'You are weak.'

These words kept repeating themselves in his head.

'You are weak.'

'You are weak.'

'You are weak.'

He-  
…

Tetsuya Yamazaki woke up with a gasp. He was breathing heavily, and he looked around to confirm that he was really awake and he was no longer dreaming.

Wiping the drool off his cheek, he remembered that he fell asleep while browsing things on his laptop.

He woke up at around five in the morning. He ate breakfast, had a shower, and changed clothes before going on his laptop to eventually fall asleep again.

He was still looking for job applications on his laptop, since the Bullet of Bullets was only a temporary solution.

He couldn't rely on GGO for income forever.

Looking at the time, he remembered yet something else.

[2:06 P.M.]

(Right… I'm going to meet him in GGO at three in the afternoon…)

There was still some time to go outside and grab some food to eat.

He opened up his phone and checked his e-wallet. He still had money to spare. Thankfully, the money he got from the Starship Guardian hunt was more than what was required for the connection fee.

(Hmm… I guess instant noodles is good enough.)

He changed into a white t-shirt and jeans, and proceeded to wash his face before slightly fixing his hair. His hair was still generally messy, but he preferred it that way.

Putting his phone in his pocket, he walked out of his apartment, but not before locking the door.

Tetsuya walked to a nearby convenience store, and grabbed his favorite seafood instant noodles. He was about to go to the counter, but he accidentally bumped into a dark haired girl with glasses.

"Oh, sorry!"

He saw that he made the girl drop her notebooks, and immediately felt bad. He knelt down and grabbed her notebooks for her, before standing up and looking at her.

The girl was wearing casual clothing. A creamy white colored sweater and a skirt and… stockings. The skirt and stockings seemed to catch Tetsuya's eye, who kept glancing down at them.

"Um…"

He heard the girl speak and quickly looked at her in the eyes.

"Oh, sorry again… These must be yours."

The girl nodded and grabbed her notebooks, then handed him his instant noodles.

"Thank you, it's alright. This is yours, I'm guessing?"

Tetsuya nodded and smiled as he got his instant noodles and bowed his head slightly in a respectful manner to her.

"Thanks."

The brown haired male walked to the counter and paid for his instant noodles using his e-wallet. The dark haired girl, meanwhile, had her eyes on him for a bit, before looking away to go get a drink.

Tetsuya grabbed his instant noodles and went out of the convenience store to head back home.

He headed back to his apartment and unlocked the door with his keys. After getting inside, he locked the door behind him again.

Walking to the kitchen area, he began to boil some water for his instant noodles. He then went to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water. He looked at the time on the clock.

[2:16 P.M.]

After a few minutes, he opened up the pack of the instant noodles and placed everything that was needed into the boiling water.

He waited for a few more minutes. Once he finished with cooking the instant noodles, he turned off the electric stove and slowly poured the contents of what he was boiling into a bowl.

He moved to the kitchen and grabbed a pair of wooden chopsticks then sat down. He began to eat silently, his mind focused on the upcoming duel.

He could slightly feel the pressure building up inside of him. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

(There's no reason for me to get nervous.)

Calm and collected were his best features. He didn't think much more about the upcoming duel, and told himself to relax and loosen up.

Some minutes pass. He's finished eating the instant noodles, and he's managed to rehydrate himself with water.

He looks at the time on the clock.

[2:34 P.M.]

(A half hour left, huh…)

Tetsuya takes a deep breath, then glances at the AmuSphere on the top of his drawer.

A half hour was more than enough for him to prepare. Seeing that he had nothing else to do anyway, he returned to his bed and plugged the Amusphere's power cord into the socket.

Putting the second-generation virtual reality console onto his head, he stared up at the ceiling then slowly closed his eyes.

He muttered the words he was very familiar with. The words that he clinged so desperately to.  
The words that were his only solace.

"Link Start!"

\----

Tetsuya slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was back in the virtual world. The only world he enjoyed being in.

He wondered what to do in his free time.

Knowing that he can't just mess around, he knew he had to do something regarding the upcoming duel.

If Kirito knew about the fact that Tetsuya was playing GGO, then there's a good chance he knows about how Tetsuya fights - since he most likely has heard lots of stories and did his own research.

Tetsuya and Kirito go way back. That was another reason why.

Tetsuya began walking down the street, with his hands in the pockets of his black jeans.

He began thinking about what he could do to win against Kirito, just so that he could prove him wrong. Tetsuya wanted to shove the fact that he was capable of winning the Bullet of Bullets in Kirito's face.

His mind wandered off to a forum post in the official Gun Gale Online website titled "How to defeat those crazy sword wielding Kirito copycats - and maybe even Kirito himself".

The post talked about the importance of explosives. Well timed grenade throws can easily… throw them off. It also told everyone to consider the importance of spacing your shots, making every shot you fire separate and far from the next one. This makes it harder for them to deflect bullets.

Traps and C4's that are in great spots also do the trick. However, that wouldn't really do well in a duel, would it? They would be facing each other directly, he had no time to set up elaborate traps - as much as he wanted to.

He stopped just outside the weapon market.

(I can't get any new weapons right now.)

However, he had enough money to buy extra equipment.

An idea popped up in his mind. He had the biggest surprise in mind.

He walked inside the weapon market, and began looking for something that could offer an advantage.

[Fifteen minutes later.]

Tetsuya arrived just outside of the General Governor's office at around 3:09 in the afternoon, nine minutes past the agreed meet-up time.

Kirito was standing outside, with his feminine avatar, and had an annoyed look on his… her…? yeah… his face.

"I thought we agreed on 3 in the afternoon."

Tetsuya sighed and rolled his eyes a bit.

"I don't give a fuck about what time you expect me to show up at places. Let's just start already."

Kirito shook his head slightly.

"Well, we can't just yet. We have to wait for someone. She's late too."

Tetsuya frowned in response to this.

"Wow, so when I show up late, you're pissed at me. But when one of your girl friends will, you say we have to wait. Way to go, Mr. Double Fucking Standard."

Kirito groaned and raised his arms up for a bit before shaking his head again.

"Look, let's just wait, okay?! I cannot stand ONE MORE second of your piss-poor attitude."

Tetsuya grabbed Kirito by the collar and glared at him.

"Oh yeah?! I can't stand ONE MORE second of your girly ass avatar and your fucking face!"

At that moment, some players who were around them were murmuring and whispering amongst themselves. Some people were saying things like "How could he treat a girl like that?".

Tetsuya thought to himself.

(Oh great. This is just great.)

It was at this moment that a female player slowly walked up to them. She sighed softly and looked around, wondering why there was a commotion.

Tetsuya continued thinking.

(Is she going to stand up for her fellow "female" player and give me the "all men are trash" talk?)

Things took a slight turn for Tetsuya, however, when the female player looked at Kirito and spoke.

"Sorry I'm late."

Tetsuya silently let go of Kirito, and looked at the female player then scratched the back of his head.

"This is the one we've been waiting for?"

Kirito nodded and waited for everyone to go back to minding their own business. The crowd that surrounded them dispersed, but some groups were still murmuring amongst themselves. He looked at Sinon.

"Why were you late?"

Sinon sighed a bit and crossed her arms while looking right at Kirito.

"I was at the library getting some notes, and I stopped by a convenience store to get a drink."

Kirito shook his head in displeasure, then looked at Tetsuya.

"Well, uh… Tetsuya, this is Sinon. She's also known by her nickname 'Hecate'. I'm sure you've at least heard of her."

Tetsuya nodded and stretched his arms out while groaning a bit.

"Yeah, I know who she is. I ran into her squad a few days ago."

Sinon narrowed her eyes a bit at him. Seeing him now without his black half face skull mask, she noticed that he was slightly taller than Kirito. Kirito, meanwhile, continued to converse with Tetsuya.

"So it was you."

Tetsuya tapped his foot a bit impatiently. He didn't really have time for all this chit-chat.

"Do you mind telling me why she's here?"

Kirito looked at Sinon for a bit, and Sinon did the same to him. It seemed that both of them were trying to think of a sufficient answer. Sinon then answered for them.

"I'll be serving as an unbiased judge."

Tetsuya did not think much of it. It made sense. In a duel, there should be an unbiased party to oversee the match.

"Fair enough. However, I have some terms as the one being challenged. When a challenger proposes a duel, the one being challenged usually sets the time and place - but since you already set the time, I think it's fair that I set the place."

Kirito nodded slowly. He looked at Sinon, and they both nodded at each other. It seemed that they were fine with this demand.

"Very well. Where are we going to duel then?"

Tetsuya turned his back to them, and put his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

"The outskirts of SBC Glocken."

Kirito nodded again, and stared right at Tetsuya. Tetsuya turned his head slightly to stare back at Kirito.

The stage was set.

Two players, one winner.

Players from a bygone era, from a game that changed their lives forever.

The question was who among them was still relevant in the new age.

The answer is the victor.


	8. Chapter 8

Tetsuya, Kirito, and Sinon arrived at the outskirts of SBC Glocken after ten minutes.

Beyond the city was just sand. There are some ruins up ahead, but it's mostly just sand.

The ground that they were on was mostly flat. Not much change in elevation around here. The odds would be even for both of them.

Sinon simply stared as the two male players walked away from each other, getting some distance in between them.

The atmosphere was a bit tense for her.

If the stories she heard from Kirito about Tetsuya were true and knowing Kirito's experiences in Sword Art Online, this was a duel between two juggernauts of the death game itself.

She couldn't help but think.

(What more if these two were at their primes? Kirito no longer is. I'm sure Tetsuya's past his prime as well.)

Soon enough, she explained the rules of the duel.

"To be clear, this isn't really a fight to the death, but if it gets there, there will be no blaming of player killing - and rest assured, the player killed will have all his items returned. The fight immediately ends when a player forfeits, no questions asked."

Tetsuya and Kirito nod. Tetsuya places his hand on the M1911A1 pistol in the holster, and Kirito grabs his Kagemitsu G4 from his belt.

Sinon stared at Tetsuya confused.

(What is he doing? Doesn't he know Kirito can just deflect his bullets? He should just use his Masamune G9 right off the bat.)

The two players stared at each other with narrow eyes. Seeing that neither player was changing their mind, Sinon raised her arm up before swinging it down.

"Start!"

Tetsuya quickly drew his sidearm and began firing at Kirito. As expected, Kirito turned on his photon sword, which emitted a purple laser and rushed at him while deflecting the bullets fired at him.

Tetsuya continued firing until the magazine ran out of bullets. At this point, Kirito was a few feet away from him, ready to strike him down. However, Tetsuya seemingly tossed something up behind his back as his bullets ran out. He turned his body to the side, revealing a flashbang.

Kirito quickly reacted in time, turning his head away to look away for a split second as the flashbang exploded. He then turned his head back to look at Tetsuya, but saw that the brown haired male tossed his pistol at the black haired male's face.

With the pistol this close, he couldn't get out of the way and got him. He was disoriented for a bit, and tried to recover.

Tetsuya grabbed his own photon sword, which emitted a blue laser, and turned it on, then rushed at Kirito. He prepared for a downward swing, which Kirito read quickly as soon as he recovered. However, Tetsuya spun a bit and kicked Kirito in the chest, knocking him back.

Sinon observed Tetsuya carefully. She was intrigued by his feint on Kirito, and his back kick. She thought to herself.

(Wasn't that… Taekwondo?)

Kirito quickly got back on his feet after being knocked away, and stared at Tetsuya. He quickly leapt at him and performed a side slash.

Tetsuya took a step back, but was cut along his shoulder. That caused him to take a bit of damage. He narrowed his eyes at Kirito and took more steps back. Kirito began his attack barrage, and relentlessly slashed at Tetsuya from all directions.

Tetsuya kept up with Kirito's flurry of attacks, and either deflected or dodged every attack. Kirito glared at him and heightened the pace, slashing even faster. Tetsuya narrowly avoided an attack aimed at his head and hopped back for a bit.

Kirito saw an opening, and rushed at him to slash diagonally upward along his chest. Tetsuya saw this coming, and bent his body to the side to avoid the diagonal slash, and suddenly punched Kirito in the abdomen with his free hand.

Kirito felt the shock throughout his body, and bent forward in response to the punch. Tetsuya did not let this opportunity pass, and performed a roundhouse kick on Kirito, kicking him away.

Sinon confirmed what she was thinking with that move.

(There's no doubt about it. He knows Taekwondo. His moves are similar to the people I saw practicing Taekwondo at our school.)

Tetsuya quickly tossed a fragmentation grenade at Kirito, who was still recovering from the roundhouse kick that he took.

Kirito heard something roll across the ground near him. Upon seeing that it was a grenade, he barely jumped out in time.

The black haired male looked around in front for his opponent, but couldn't see any trace of him. 

"Over here."

Kirito's eyes widened upon realizing that Tetsuya was behind him. Tetsuya then kicked Kirito high up into the air, then followed after him by jumping up into the air. While at it, he slowly leaned backwards, so that when he was just above Kirito, he was upside down.

Kirito, still wide-eyed, looked at Tetsuya. Tetsuya simply looked at him with his ice cold blue eyes.

Tetsuya fully leaned back, and swung his leg down onto Kirito's chest, kicking him down into the ground hard. 

Tetsuya landed back down, and looked at Kirito, whose health was now in the yellow zone. He checked his own health, it was still green since his health was more than half.

Kirito slowly got up and breathed slowly. He looked at Tetsuya with a serious expression, and Tetsuya immediately recognized those eyes. He remembers those eyes from SAO.

Kirito even grabbed his FN Five-Seven pistol from his holster, and held it in his left hand. For a moment, Tetsuya saw Kirito's avatar from SAO, dual wielding his Elucidator and Dark Repulsor.

Tetsuya turned off his photon sword and placed his right foot forward. He tossed the photon sword's handle onto his left hand, holding it in a reverse grip. He then held it behind his back.

Kirito narrowed his eyes at Tetsuya after seeing his stance. For a split second, he saw Tetsuya wearing a midnight blue kimono, with a sheathed katana held behind his back.

Sinon looked at the two players. She felt the end of the duel nearing.

Kirito leapt at Tetsuya once more. He aimed his pistol at him and fired repeatedly at him, making sure he emptied all of his bullets at him. To steady his aim, he put his left wrist on top of his right arm.

Tetsuya ducked and tried to slide past the bullets, but he got hit by most of the bullets anyway. He was hit in the shoulder, the legs, and the chest.

His health dropped to the yellow zone as well.

Kirito spun a bit in mid air then landed on his feet. He looked at Tetsuya, who was rushing at him. He would then swung his sword diagonally downward, from left to right.

At their current positions, Kirito had the advantage. He would be able to strike first. Tetsuya still had a considerable distance to close.

Knowing this, Tetsuya placed an immense amount of force on his toes, and dashed forward nearly instantaneously. He started moving his left hand forward, and waited for the perfect opportunity.

Once Kirito was about to begin his swinging motion, Tetsuya saw his chance. He moved his left hand forward more. He turned on the Masamune G9, then held it with his other hand.

They both began their last attacks at the same time.

Kirito slashed diagonally downward, while Tetsuya slashed diagonally upward. Together, they shouted.

"HAAAAAAAH!!!!"

The two players spun away from each other after their respective attacks. 

They were both silent.

Tetsuya slowly stood up, and turned his head to the side to look at Kirito, whose health was in the red zone, and whose right arm was cut right off.

Tetsuya pointed the tip of his photon sword at Kirito.

"Surrender, or your head is the next thing I'll cut off."

Kirito silently nodded, and took a deep breath.

"I forfeit."

Sinon was shocked by the result. She couldn't believe what happened. It was like a dream.

(Kirito… lost? Not only that, but he lost convincingly…? The duel was pretty much one-sided in Tetsuya's favor…)

Tetsuya turned off his photon sword and hooked it back onto his belt. He then walked back to where his M1911A1 was, and put it back into his holster while putting the safety on.

"Are we done here?"

Sinon looked at Tetsuya then looked at Kirito. The black haired male nodded again, then spoke.

"Yeah, we're done here."

Tetsuya nodded and took a deep breath. He turned his back to them and began to head back towards the city.

"See you around, Beater."

Sinon knew that word. Kirito told her of it. It was basically an insult back in the world of Sword Art Online. She looked at the black haired male, and decided to ask a few things, before moving on to what they were really here for.

"That last attack… What was that?"

Kirito lowered his head a bit, and looked at his cut off arm. He then looked at Tetsuya walking away in the distance.

"It was a modified version of Battōjutsu. I couldn't see the attack itself, it was very fast."

Sinon looked at Kirito, a confused expression on her face.

"Battōjutsu?"

Kirito remained silent for a bit. He retrieved his Kagemitsu G4 on the ground, then responded.

"A Unique Skill from SAO. It's given to the fastest player."

Sinon slowly walked up to Kirito while staring at Tetsuya walk away. She felt the wind blow past them and remained silent for a significant amount of time.

She had one more question on her mind, but she wasn't sure if she should ask already. Kirito looked like he was thinking, and she didn't want to disturb him.

Eventually, Kirito looked at Sinon, giving her permission to ask what was on her mind.

"Did he… pass?"

Kirito nodded slowly.

"Mm, I suppose so. He'll be pleased to hear about Tetsuya's performance."

Sinon looked up at Kirito. Another question popped up in her mind.

"So, he'll be joining the team already?"

Kirito shook his head.

"No. We'll see how he does in the Bullet of Bullets. Then we'll decide."


End file.
